A question for NASCAR fans

[Little Giant]

[SIZE="3"]I'm a Nascar fan but there's a question that maybe one of you fans can answer for me.
Why is the starting field in both the Nextel Cup and the Busch Series set at 43 starters? Why not 42 or 44?[/SIZE]

[dbradley]

I think it has something to do with honoring Richard Petty.



























Just kidding...I have no idea.

[CobraSkip]

You're almost right.
Early on the limit was determined by the size of the track, the more the merrier. The Daytona beach races had upwards of 100 starters. As time went on and things became more orginized, 42 was settled on because the shortest of tracks could handle that number. Then they started giving garanteed starts for things like; last years race winner, top ten in points, etc. Then when Richard Petty was in his waining years. he began to miss qualifying so they added a 43rd starting position for past champions. So some races had 42 and others 43. Today, ignoring Daytona 500, there are 43 starters with the top 35 owners points garenteed a spot and last years winner based on speed. If a past champion attempts the race and dosen't qualify in the top 43, he gets the 43rd spot. Note, the 44 car this year, Jarett, has made some races on speed, some as past champion.

[Little Giant]

[SIZE="3"]Thanks for the info. I suspected that it had something to do with the "King", but wasn't sure. [/SIZE]

Originally Posted by CobraSkip

You're almost right.
Early on the limit was determined by the size of the track, the more the merrier. The Daytona beach races had upwards of 100 starters. As time went on and things became more orginized, 42 was settled on because the shortest of tracks could handle that number. Then they started giving garanteed starts for things like; last years race winner, top ten in points, etc. Then when Richard Petty was in his waining years. he began to miss qualifying so they added a 43rd starting position for past champions. So some races had 42 and others 43. Today, ignoring Daytona 500, there are 43 starters with the top 35 owners points garenteed a spot and last years winner based on speed. If a past champion attempts the race and dosen't qualify in the top 43, he gets the 43rd spot. Note, the 44 car this year, Jarett, has made some races on speed, some as past champion.